WILLEMSTAD - To facilitate travel within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Ministers of Justice agreed in 2022 that citizens with Dutch nationality from Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Caribbean part of the Netherlands, namely the islands of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius, would be allowed to travel with their ID cards between the mentioned countries starting from May 2022. Minister of Justice, Mr. Shalten Hato, sees this decision as a significant contribution to optimizing the movement of people between the Caribbean countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
During the latest Justice Consultation of the Four Countries (Justitieel Vierlanden Overleg, JVO), various topics related to judicial cooperation between the four countries were discussed. One of the topics in this Justice Consultation was the use of identification cards in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, with the exception of Aruba. This cooperation is yielding positive results, and all participating countries are satisfied with it and will continue investing in communication to promote this within their respective nations.
According to the figures presented to the 4 Ministers of Justice in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a total of 337 citizens have utilized this facility from May 2022 to June 2023 to travel between Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the BES islands using their ID cards. Out of this total, 80 individuals were registered in Curaçao as travelers using their ID cards during the mentioned period. Since January 2023, all 4 Ministers of Justice have agreed to continue with this project and have decided to evaluate it again at the end of 2023.
For citizens of Aruba, it is also still valid to use their ID cards to enter the BES islands, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. However, for trips to Aruba, all citizens must travel with their passports. Therefore, no citizen can travel (yet) with an ID card to Aruba as a destination. This measure also does not apply to travelers between the participating islands and the Netherlands. For journeys to the Netherlands, a passport remains necessary. Additionally, for European Dutch citizens, using their ID cards for entry into Curaçao, Sint Maarten, or the BES islands is not applicable.
As the responsible authority for Curaçao's borders, Minister Hato continues to work on optimizing border services by contributing to projects that make travel easier for our citizens while always safeguarding the security of our island.